Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, May 17, 2023/Page 1 OB
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Photo by Deborah Clark
VOICING CONCERNS — Mount Vernon resident Jervy Thomas was among the citizens
who attended the Montgomery County Commission meeting on May 8 to ask ques
tions about the local hurricane preparedness plans the County has in place.
Hurricane Preparedness Topic
At MoCo Commission Session
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Inland South Georgia
is not often in the direct
path of a hurricane, but a
number of citizens came
before the Montgomery
County Commission dur
ing its regular session on
May 8 to voice concerns
about a preparedness plan
should such a threat occur.
Local resident Brooks
Nobles, who is a mother
with young children and
a hospital employee, re
minded Commissioners
that the new hurricane
season is coming up and
said she wanted to be as
sured that if she is at work
that her children have a
safe place to stay. She in
quired whether Montgom
ery County has a shelter in
place.
Jervy Thomas of
Mount Vernon, who said
he moved to Montgom
ery County from Savan
nah where hurricanes are a
frequent concern, pointed
out that a lot of the Coun
ty’s residents live in mobile
homes and many of the el
derly and infirm are unable
to leave their homes with
out assistance. Thomas
pointed to the threats of
loss of power and unsafe
roads, compounded by a
lack of public transporta
tion.
While the Commis
sion thanked the residents
for their comments, it was
noted by Chairman Le-
land Adams that protocol
prevents the Commission
from responding to pub
lic comments made dur
ing a regular meeting, but
concerns brought up by
the public would be taken
into consideration and re
viewed.
Following the meet
ing, County Manager
Brandon Braddy and
Emergency Management
Director Donnie Daniels
clarified the county’s posi
tion on hurricane and se
vere weather preparedness.
Also, the county clari
fied the differences be
tween a long-term shel
ter and a short-term safe
shelter. A long-term shel
ter would be needed in
post-disaster events such
as destructive hurricanes
or tornados. In the event
of a pre-disaster or severe
weather event a safe shelter
would be made available.
The EMA Director
would coordinate with the
American Red Cross, local
schools, and local churches
to establish short-term safe
shelters. The Montgomery
County EMA would make
public service announce
ments through local media,
social media, and Hyper-
Reach to inform the pub
lic when the shelter would
be opened and its loca
tion. Daniels encourag
es the public to subscribe
to Hyper-Reach to receive
emergency notifications.
To subscribe to Hyper-
Reach, to go to: http://
hyper-reach.com/gamont-
gomerysignup.html or call
912-454-8106 and follow
the instructions.
Highway 292 Safety
William Bell of Ailey
attended the Commission
session for another reason.
He was dismayed about
the condition of Geor
gia Highway 292, specifi
cally the high grass on the
right-of-way which could
obscure animals emerging
onto the state highway.
In comments made
after the meeting, Braddy
said that Georgia Highway
292 is maintained by the
Georgia Department of
Transportation; however,
Braddy did state that the
county’s Road Department
started mowing the rights-
of-way in January.
Consent Agenda
The Commission ap
proved the following items:
• Proposal from the
City of Douglas Fire De
partment to respond to
hazardous material emer
gencies in Montgomery
County in a mutual aid
agreement at the annual
rate of $827.
• Renewal of a work
detail agreement with the
Georgia Department of
Corrections for the an
nual sum of $49,318, to
provide a prison detail for
the county’s Road Depart
ment.
• Memorandum of
understanding with ABM
Building Solutions to per
form a free preliminary as
sessment of the County’s
facilities and infrastruc
ture. The preliminary as
sessment would explore
opportunities for the coun
ty to reduce overall costs of
operating and servicing the
County’s buildings.
New Business
The Commission also
gave a nod to:
• Declaring as surplus
a 2014 Dodge Charger to
be sold for $5,000 to the
City of Uvalda for use by
law enforcement.
• Adoption of a resolu
tion authorizing the trans
fer of $22,631.25 from the
Capital Projects Fund to
the Special Purpose Local
Options Sales Tax Fund
following reimbursement
from a GEMA grant for
the County’s siren warning
system.
• Adoption of a resolu
tion authorizing the lease
of a John Deere 6110M
tractor with Alamo boom
mower with Truist Gov
ernmental Finance in the
amount of $207,693
• Declaring as surplus
equipment and authoriz
ing the sale of equipment
on GovDeals.com of a
2018 John Deere 620G
motor grader SN with the
minimum bid to be the
payoff amount of the lease;
and a 2013 John Deere
6115M tractor with an Al
amo 25-foot boom mower
and mowing head.
Other Matters
With one-third of the
year elapsed, the County
has collected 69.29% of
its budgeted revenue and
expended 31% of this
amount.
In a report on emer
gency management, Dan
iels reported that the
County responded to 78
EMS calls in April. The
EMA/Rural Fire/ and
Code Enforcement divi
sion experienced a decline
in activity, with 20 calls for
the month.
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1 A
Alyssa Head raced the car in the Soap Box Derby, while Marcangel Euresti served as
the car handler on race day, (L to R): Alex Muzafarov, Marcangel Euresti, William Harn,
Alyssa Head, Kevin Head, Steven McComas, and Lori Harn,
VHS & Responsive
Technology Partner For
Soapbox Derby Project
Courtesy of VHS
Vidalia High School
students recently part
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Responsive Technology
Partners to complete a
STEM project. The VHS
science and engineering
teachers worked together
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soapbox derby car in the
recent Southeast Georgia
Soap Box Derby in Lyons.
Students from Kevin
Head's Engineering class
— including Marcangel
Euresti, Alyssa Head,
Alexis Head, Adam Fos
ter, Adrian Lee, and sev
eral others - worked on
constructing the car. The
physics students worked
to solve problems associ
ated with a derby car on
an incline. Southeast
Georgia Soapbox Derby
Director Jonathan Gordy
visited the group and
helped with some final
engineering aspects of
the car design.
The students created
free-body diagrams and
models showing the
forces using Newton's
Laws. William Harn led
the physics students in
solutions on the car's
weight, force normal,
force parallel, force of
friction, and acceleration.
Students that partici
pated in the actual derby
event were Marcangel
Euresti (car handler) and
Alyssa Head (car driver).
The VHS Responsive
Technology Partners
STEM car finished 5th
out of 19 participants in
the event. Vidalia High
School is thankful for the
support of The Respon
sive Technology Partners
group, which was a big
part of completing the
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General Information:
Request For Proposal (RFP)
Description: security wall
The Montgomery County School District is accepting proposals for a red brick wall attached to the
patio at the middle/high school. The scope of the project will include approximately 35'-40’ in length,
8 ft high, and approximately 20 inches in width. An egress route door will be included in the project.
Contact Brian Barnhill to schedule an appointment at (912) 583-2301 ext. 210 or
bbarnhill@montaomerv.k12.aa.us
Evaluation Criteria:
1. Proposal’s responsiveness to school’s advertised needs
2. Total cost
3. Timeline to be completed: negotiable
4. 3 businesses references
5. Evidence of having completed similar projects
The School District has the authority to waive any technicalities or informalities and has the right to
reject all bids or proposals that are non-responsive or not responsible. Further, the School District
may issue change orders altering the original scope of work to address changes or unforeseen
conditions necessary for the project completion.
The deadline for submitting a proposal is 4:00 PM, May 24, 2023. Proposals
should be dropped off at the following address or emailed to
bbarnhill@montqomerv.k12. qa. us
Montgomery County Board of Education
Attn: Brian Barnhill, Assistant Superintendent
703 Dobbins St.
Mount Vernon, GA 30445